May 16, 1986 – “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, and Val Kilmer, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.

Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with the Paramount Pictures company. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., and was inspired by the article “Top Guns” written by Ehud Yonay for California magazine.

The film stars Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a young Naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Edwards) are given the chance to train at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. The film depicts Maverick’s progress through the training, his romance with a female instructor (McGillis), his overcoming a crisis of confidence following a fatal training accident, and the killing of several enemy pilots of unlisted nationality in a dogfight.

The film won the following awards:

Year

Award

Category – Recipient(s)

1987

ASCAP Film and Television Music Award

Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures – Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the song “Take My Breath Away”.

1987

Academy Award

Best Music, Original Song – Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song “Take My Breath Away”.

1986

Apex Scroll Award

Achievement in Sound Effects

1987

BRIT Award

Best Soundtrack

1987

Golden Globe

Best Original Song – Motion Picture – Giorgio Moroder (music) and Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for the song “Take My Breath Away”.